1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a circuit board assembly, and more particularly to a circuit board assembly having parallel printed circuit boards.
2. Description of Prior Art
Two printed circuit boards are ordinarily connected perpendicular to or parallel to one another. Parallel connection is usually adopted in portable electrical devices, such as notebooks or PDAs. In such an arrangement, a plurality of printed circuit boards are stacked in parallel with electrical connectors connected therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,185 discloses a conventional parallel circuit board assembly which comprises a main circuit board and an auxiliary circuit board. Two receptacle electrical connectors are mounted on the auxiliary circuit board, and two plug electrical connectors are mounted on the main circuit board. The two circuit boards are electrically connected together by mating the plug connectors and the receptacle connectors.
However, the conventional parallel circuit board assembly has a shortcoming. When the auxiliary circuit board is rotated a 180 angle, the receptacle connectors of the auxiliary circuit board also can mate with the plug connectors of the main circuit board. Therefore, an incorrect coupling of the two circuit boards can result.
A parallel circuit board assembly which can prevent mistaken connection of two circuit boards is desired.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a parallel printed circuit board assembly having two circuit boards which are prevented from being incorrectly connected together.
To achieve the above object, a parallel printed circuit board assembly in accordance with the present invention includes a main circuit board and an auxiliary circuit board. The main circuit board has a surface with a plug and receptacle connectors mounted thereon. The auxiliary circuit board has a surface with a plug and receptacle connectors mounted thereon. The plug and receptacle connectors of the main circuit board respectively mate with the receptacle and plug connectors of the auxiliary circuit board.